


Armum

by MilayaMilenZeal, Night_the_Dragon



Series: Long Live the Queen [34]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-12-25 11:28:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18260363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MilayaMilenZeal/pseuds/MilayaMilenZeal, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Night_the_Dragon/pseuds/Night_the_Dragon
Summary: M.E. 787It started out simple. It wasn’t going to stay simple, and Regina knows it… but it’s nice that it starts out that way…





	Armum

Lestallum’s always been a place for people to gather, and especially during the Decade of Darkness, when the power plant had been refitted in an attempt to supply the entire continent with the power it needed. And given that important role, much of the city that had once been free to enter at your leisure, had been cordoned off to keep the daemons out.

With the light returned, the city had been opened up again, but many who had known the city from before would say that it simply wasn’t the same as it once was.

However, life moves on, leaving people to deal with everything.

And the same went for the many Glaives that had assisted in helping keep the light in Lucis.

 

“What happened to the Glaives after the light returned?” Regina asks as the small group sits in Lestallum’s main square, sipping some light drinks as they watch the crowds.

“Most of them either joined the Hunters, or retired once their job was done,” Libby answers almost immediately, before she takes another sip from her drink.

Domi is humming as he takes a slow sip of his own, looking around at the people walking the streets as if there had never been an era of total darkness just a few years ago. Regina doesn’t blame him; it’s so strange to think that it’s only been so long since the end of a period where everyone was walking around the world on eggshells. Finally, though, he asks: “Sooo… do the Glaives still wear their gear?”

“The black stuff? Dun think so…” Terry says, shrugging. “Ain’t ever seen anyone wearing it, anyway. Not since the light came back, anyway…”

“Oh…”

Regina is sure that they're still around, though… The Glaives had waited 10 years for the King’s return, so surely, they wouldn’t just leave like that, right?

Or so she hopes… because they're really the only possible lead she has…

“…Though I _do_ remember one of ‘m from way back…” Terry mumbles just then, and Regina almost jumped. “Kinda hard not ta… she had the funky face tattoos.”

“Face tattoos?” Regina repeats.

“Yep. She had like arrows on her chin and a bunch-a swords or daggers or whatever under her left eye,” the redhead said, tapping the skin under her own left eye. “She was part of a group getting food supplies for people in Lestallum, while looking for meteor shards in the process.”

Libby hums a bit at that news, clearly as curious as everyone else. “That so? Well… do we have any idea where she went?”

“No sure… she mighta stayed in Lestallum, but I dun remember having seen her much after the light returned…” Terry admitted with a shrug. “She mighta also died.”

That makes sense… it’s been almost 20 years already, and there’s been very little sight of Kingsglaive anywhere. Sure, some had made it to Insomnia to help the King in taking back the city… but how many had actually made it back out alive?

“Anywho,” Terry says as she slaps her knees, getting up to her feet again, “how ‘bout we go getting a new hunt? To keep ourselves busy.”

“Eh, why not?” Regina chuckles as she stands up as well, with Libby and Domi following closely after.

After a few minutes of discussion with each other, they headed for the market place to catch a hunt from there. It’s been a while since they took one from there, after all.

When they arrive, the market place is as busy as ever, and as they pass through, Libby stops them to get some ingredients for later, which takes only five minutes, really. And only once they’re sure they need nothing else do they head over to the canteen.

They aren’t prepared for what they encounter there, though.

“What the _fuck?!_ ” a man – a hunter, looks like – is shouting, loud enough for almost the entire market place to hear him. “What do you mean I can’t _fuckin’_ take the hunt?!”

“I’m sorry, sir… but we can’t give out hunts above your hunter rank…” the young lady explains, though she’s obviously not used to people getting so upset over not being able to take a hunt. She looks very uncomfortable, and especially as the man continues to scream and shout at her, telling her over and over again that he’s strong enough to handle it. She sticks to the rules, though, stating over and over again that she just can’t give him the hunt as long as he doesn’t have the proper rank to go for it.

The group of four look back and forth between each other, quietly asking each other who’s going to be the be one to break the whole thing up before the poor lady gets a complete nervous breakdown. It takes barely a minute before Terry snorts and fairly stomps over. It’s a good thing, too; she’s the tallest, and the bulkiest despite being female, and she’s definitely more intimidating than the guy.

“Oy,” she says firmly, almost like a snarl, and the guy jumps briefly, before he turns, frowning and clearly prepared to snap at her. However, Terry doesn’t let him and says sharply: “Ye’re blockin’ the way! Some people’re here to get their hunts, yanno!? Plus ya’re making ‘r nervous, can’t ya tell?!”

“U-um…!”

“ _Move it!!_ ”

The shout’s enough to get the guy to move, and Terry snorts a bit at the ease that it had taken her, as Regina walks up to the girl, Alice, she believed her name had been.

“Hey,” she says, producing her hunter ID, even though she doesn’t have to – because everyone in Lestallum pretty much knows them and their exploits – and she asks: “Got any interesting hunts for us to take on?”

“Ah, well… we _do_ have a few nasty ones…” Alice admits, as she brings out a few of the posters for Regina to look at.

She spends only a few moments looking them over before she chose a hunt for a lone ronin that had been spotted near one of the old Imperial bases during the night. It sounds simple enough, with there only being one of them and with it being so far away from civilization they should be fine to go all out. Plus, it needs to be dealt with properly before it ends up getting _too_ close.

“This one looks like a good one to keep us busy,” she says casually.

She’s not expecting the other to complain, and they don’t have anything against it, as they all nod when she holds it up for them to see. But it isn’t her friends who begin to make a fuss about it.

“ _What!?_ You’re letting _them_ have it?!” the man from before demands of Alice.

“Well… they have the required rank…” Alice points out, and she’s obviously nervous about interacting with him again. And Regina doesn’t blame her.

 “The hell!? That’s bullshit!! How can you give something like that to-to…! A bunch of _girls!?_ ”

Terry is snarling at this point, more than a little annoyed with the guy at this point. However, she doesn’t have the chance to say anything about it…

“Hey, you _do_ realize that you’re just making yourself look like an asshole by looking down on females like that, right?” When Regina and her friends look over, they spot a woman with brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, adjusting her rectangular glasses as she frowns at the annoying man. “If you’re so hung up about it, you should be focusing on getting your own rank up.”

The man stammers briefly, before he glares at her. “And who the fuck do you think _you_ are?! No one asked for your opinion!”

“Maybe not, but I’m still giving it because I’m trying to be _nice_ , believe it or not. Keep up like this and you might just lose your entire hunter rank.”

Regina snorts and Domi is trying not to giggle openly, covering his mouth with his hand as the man splutters indignantly. Terry, meanwhile, is guffawing openly while Libby merely hums a bit as she adjusts her glasses.

“Y-you…! Who the hell do you think you are?!”

“Oh, she’s actually part of the guard,” said a second voice as another woman stepped up casually, placing one arm on the brunette’s shoulder and leaning casually against her – and Regina’s breath catches as she lays eyes on her. “As am I, actually. So… do you intend to make this situation any _more_ embarrassing for yourself? _Or_ are you going to be a reasonable adult, pick a hunt you have the rank for, and go on your way to be better, hm?”

She’s about the same age as the brunette, with short black hair that’s been swept every which way from the wind, dressed in easy clothes. However, what stands out immediately with her, is the set of intricate dagger-shaped tattoos painted under her left eye and the arrows on her chin.

Regina’s half expecting the guy to keep going, but, shockingly, the guy’s just spluttering as the two newcomers, both of them completely silent as they watch him search for the words he needs. But every time he seems to have them, he flinches as one of two of the women glares at him.

And, finally, he grumbles something and speedwalks away.

Once he’s gone, the second woman snorts with a half chuckle as she stands up straight. “Well! That worked,” she says with a small smirk.

“Yep!” the other woman laughs, before she looks to Alice. “Hey, if he shows up again and starts making a ruckus, be sure to let us know, right?”

“Uh-um sure. But… y-you wouldn’t really…?”

“You kidding?” the tattooed woman asks, before she laughs. “Nah, we don’t have the proper authority for that. But don’t tell ‘im that, kay?”

“Oh. Oh, alright, sure,” Alice says, smiling a little. “Thank you.”

“No prob,” the woman says, before looking to her friend. “Let’s get back to our rounds, eh?”

“Sounds good.”

As the two women turn and leave, Regina looks over to her friends, who, immediately, nod their heads, and they swiftly hurry after the women before they would leave sight of them entirely.

“Excuse me!” Regina calls out as they came up to them, causing them to turn around.

“Hm? Oh hey,” the black-haired woman says.

“How can we help you?” the brunette inquires, turning a now-kinder gaze behind her glasses to Regina.

“Ah well… I was wondering if we could ask you something real quick…” Regina asks, unsure of how to proceed now that they were right there.

“Don’t see why not…” the tattooed woman says, looking to her friend. “Think we can spare a few minutes, right, Shix?”

“Course we can, Gina.”

“Thanks,” Regina says gratefully.

Libby hums as she adjusts her glasses, but it’s Terry who speaks up first about what it is they want to know. “So, hey, just in case… you were part of the Glaives, weren’t ya?”

At that, both women look at them curiously. “…Yeah, we were…” the black-haired woman -- Gina, was it? -- says with a small frown.

“What about it?” the brunette -- Shix -- questions, curious, tilting her head.

“Cool!” Terry says with a laugh. “Then again, you’re pretty easy to spot,” she says, pointing to Gina. Or more specifically, the tattoos on her face.

This makes her roll her eyes a bit, but she’s chuckling. “Pretty sure I’m not the _only_ one with tattoos like this.”

“Still, not many with tattoos on their face, Gina,” Shix smirks.

“Hardy har.” Shaking her head, she then turns to the girls. “Anywho, sounds like you got something on your minds. So how ‘bout we head to thoroughfare and get some munchies there while we talk? That way we won’t block of the street with the lot of us.”

“Good idea,” Libby says with a nod.

“Lead the way, Gina,” Shix laughs lightly, letting her friend guide them all as Gina nods and turns to walk off again toward the thoroughfare.

As they walk, though, Regina exhales softly in relief. And she hopes, _sincerely_ , that they will be able to do what they must now…

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this idea came to me after playing Comrades. Pretty sure those of you who've played it as well know what this series will be about...
> 
> Also many thanks to Night_the_Dragon for her contribution with Shix~


End file.
